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Brian May - What A Lovely Man ...

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ladybirder | 21:45 Sun 16th Dec 2012 | News
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I love his music, his care for animals plus his fight to save the badgers. But now I read this.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2248952/Queen-guitarist-Brian-May-bought-Sir-Patrick-Moores-house-2008-ensure-astronomer-live-final-years.html

As I said, what a lovely man. Wish there were more rock stars like him.
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The fact that he did this in secret is even more impressive. Easy to shout about charity...rather more classy to do it on the quiet.
11:46 Mon 17th Dec 2012
Not sure that May is due all of the credit here. If you read the article, rather than say that He purchased the house, he instead refers to WE, Patrick' friends.

// As Patrick's friends, WE have been discussing possible futures for some time //

// ...they've managed to sniff out about how WE, as Patrick's friends, helped him in his latter years //

Rather than a solo act, I am guessing that May was part of a Trust set up to provide bursaries and help for young astromeners. This would be done with the proceeds of the sale of his house after jis death. This would ensure that death duties would be avoided. Proceeds from the sale could be left in his will to the Trust, thus bye-passing the taxman.
what a lovely thing to do.
Jeez Gromit have you always been this cynical? What a miserable little world you must live in.

I think it's so very sad that some people are always looking for 'ulterior motives' behind the actions of others.

Some people are still capable of caring for their fellow man/woman you know without turning it into an opportunity to avoid tax.
Brian May has a PhD in astrophysics as well as being a musician , and Patrick Moore has composed music which has been performed on TV and radio as well as being an accomplished Xylophone player , so they have quite a lot in common.
Gromit if you read the artical it makes it clear that Brian Mat bought the house and immediately leased it back to Patrick for ''one pepper corn if demanded'' that was a clever ploy to ensure that the lease was legal as a 'rent' was being charged. There is no suggestion at all that there was a profit motive. There are plans to possibly turn the house into a museum to Patrick Moore.
I kind deed indeed. Im just a little confused (no news there) It was Patrick moores house, why did Brian May need to buy it for him to live in, was Patrick short on funds maybe?
A kind deed indeed*
Did Patrick Moore just rent it?
Ratter read the link Patrick Moore WAS short of funds , he was too generous he gave away everything he had. He used to pay for young astronomers to go to university even though he had never met them, he gave away almost all his equipment, he held New year parties for the entire village and picked up the bill.
ummmm, yes Patrick Moore did just rent the house , it is still owned outright by Brian May so there is no question of inheritance tax yet.
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He was required to pay "One peppercorn if demanded" ummmm.

And their mutual love of animals and hatred of cruelty to them was also something they had in common.

And they were/are both generous men as well.
Why does an 89 year old man need / want nearly half a million quid?

If this was a genuine case of hardship (which I doubt) then a more charitable thing to do would be to gift him a few £thousand every now and then instead of taking his house.

There is more to this than helping out an old friend.
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Really, I wish somebody would pay me £40k over the odds for my house and let me live in it for the rest of my life for a peppercorn rent if demanded. I'd have the life of Reilly.

Maybe Patrick wouldn't accept money, would have been embarrassed, but selling his house was an acceptable way out to him, better than equity release!
Of course, any income May made in rent would be taxable, hence the

// "One peppercorn if demanded" //

Fee set for Moore. May will getting a lot of money in Royalties and willalready be paying a lot of tax, so he does not need the income and can charge 'one peppercorn' and avoid handing a real rent of £10,000 - £20,000 a year to HMRC.
Nice one Brian! :-)
Ladybirder.

I am guessing you are not 89 and in good health.
wonder why some see something more in this than an act of kindness, grinch lives
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Good health but not quite 89 yet gromit.

If a good friend of many years was to do for me what Brian did for Patrick and he did it in a tax efficient way, that did not cost me anything but minimised the tax bill for my kind friend, then it's a win win situation isn't it?

absolutely ^^
A very nice act...and I had no idea that Brian May was into astronomy...

What Bryan May did is what some (slightly dodgy) companies do - they buy property from the elderly, give them a lump sum, and allow them to live there for the rest of their lives.

However, they take a fee (obviously), and in some cases that I've read about, they don't value the property at full market rates.

So good for Brian. Nice once.

Not too fussed, or indeed surprised about Patrick Moore's opinions on social matters.
Gromit what sad cynic you are, you seem to want to try and find something devious in everything.

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